Pimping the Dead: Cindy Sheehan and the War

Okay, first rule: people who've lost a loved one in Iraq get to say anything they want.

Whether we agree with it or not, we all have to understand that in grief people are entitled to make whatever statements they wish, and we'll respectfully and politely give them room to grieve.

But...

And here's the big but...

That doesn't mean what they have to say is necesarily true, relevant or rational.

In fact, it's just because they ARE grieving they the may be irrational, and therefore say things that are untrue or irrelvant.

Such is the case for Cindy Sheehan, who has staked out the President's ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding that he meet with her to discuss her views on the war. Ms. Sheehan's son, Casey was killed in Iraq last year.

You can read her comments on the issue here, but in essence, she's demanding that the U.S. pull out of Iraq immediately.

An understandable position for someone who has lost a son in the war, but hardly a reasonable one. Can you imagine the chaos that would erupt if we just pulled up and went home now?

Not to say that the outcome in Iraq is guaranteed if we stay -- so much must be done to stop the terrorist attacks and get the fledgling nation on its feet.

But the outcome pretty much IS guaranteed if we leave now -- it will be a disaster.

Ms. Sheehan also asks what "noble cause" her son died for.

I think he died so that 27 million people could live under the same freedom we enjoy. I believe he died to stop a madman who subjected those 27 million people to unspeakable torture and murder administered in the cruelest methods possible. I think he died to stop a maniac who repeatedly threatened and attacked his neighbors, persecuted minorities, refused to comply with international demands that he completely dismantle his WMD programs, and who was an ardent advocate and sponsor of global terror.

That may not seem like a very good answer to Ms. Sheehan -- it wouldn't to me either.

But it's a lot better than the one she gets from liars and cowards who call themselves her friends and supporters -- that Casey died for a a lie and it wasn't worth it.

Those same supporters have taken this grieving mother's vigil and turned it into a publicity stunt -- there's good press to be had, after all, in pimping the dead.

To their shame. But then, they probably have no shame.

One final thought. Interesting to note that Ms. Sheehan's own family has refused to endorse her position and has actually asked her to stop.